Shadow Luna

CH. 7 More Questions

Annabelle POV.

I open my eyes and I am back in my old room at Mrs. Betty’s house. I turn and see Greg lying next to me smiling. I smile back hoping that this wasn’t a dream, I cress his face. I pull my hand back feeling like this isn’t right. His smile turns sinister and I get out of bed and back up into a tree. I am suddenly back in the forest; I look ahead and see Greg on his knees with Jason holding him a chokehold. Jason gives me a evil smirk and says, “I killed you fiancé, I will kill your mate too.” I look at him puzzled then look back at Greg, only it wasn’t Greg anymore, it was Colten. I see him whisper ‘I love you’ before Jason goes to snap his neck.

I jolt awake gasping for air. I am back at the hospital room. Thank goodness it was only a nightmare, but it seemed so real. I felt someone squeeze my shoulder and rub my back. I turn to see Dorthey at my side calming me down. I instantly calm down knowing I am safer here than with Jason.

“Are you alright dear, you nearly gave me a fright the way you just jolted up.” She said with a worried tone. It was heartwarming and reminded me of the love my mother use to give me.

“I am better now, thank you, it was just a nightmare.” I nod and lay back down with her assistance.

“Well dear, there is nothing to fear anymore, you are safe here.” She smiles and I smile back. I relax a little, but I am still guarded. I know I am new to this world and my first impression of werewolves was not great. These people are nicer, that’s for sure, but what if I let my guard down and they turn on me. What if they end up being as brutal as Jason and start hurting me? I think Dorthey can see the fear returning in my eyes as she rubs my forearm.

“I know it will take time to adjust to all this, but you can trust me. I promise that I and my family will never hurt you. Please give us a chance to prove to you that not all werewolves are bad.” She smiles at me with hope filled eyes.

“I am sorry for my reaction, I guess it will take me time as you said.” I say. Last thing I want to be is rude to my rescuers. They have been nothing but understanding and kind.

“Would you like to talk about it?” She asked.

“It was a flashback to my abduction, only instead of Greg…” I sigh.

“It was Colten wasn’t it?” She asked and I nod. I can feel the tears forming. “Sweetie, I am so sorry that you had a terrible first impression of us, but we are all not bad. We believe in family and protect them at all costs. Take my son for example, I am sure he is already smitten with you. He has been waiting for you since he learned about mates as a child. With the traumas that you have endured I know that he will do anything for you, he already can’t live without you. It is his new purpose to protect you and make you happy.” She says. I smile at the thought. The feeling that I am starting to feel with Colten seem stronger compare to what I felt with Greg. It makes me feel guilty that instead of mourning him I am being draw to another, it has only been a month since I lost him.

“I do feel the connection I have with you son, Mrs. Summers, but…”

“Call my Dorthey or mom, I have always wanted a daughter.” I nod.

“I just feel guilty jumping into another relationship when Greg meant so much to me. It is like I am dishonoring his name and all the memories we shared. He was the one that help me through the lost of my parents. He…”

“He was the love of your life.” She said with so much sorrow. “I am sure that if you give yourself time you will be able to move forward with your new life. I am sure that Greg would want you to be happy and loved. He would not want to see you grieve for too long.” She gave me a small smile.

“You are right. I lost him, I loved him. He would want me to move on and find happiness somewhere else.” I let my tears fall and the relief wash through. Dorthey knew the exact words to say to make me more accepting of my new life. I must move on now, not just for me, but to honor Greg. She was right, Greg would not want me to stay down, he would always push me to fight for my happiness. And I will. I just hope that this new place gives me just that.

“Thank you so much Dorthey, I needed to hear that.” I say and take a deep breath.

“Well I am glade that I can make you feel better dear. I would hate to see a child of mine stay sad for too long. I just can’t wait to take you shopping. I know you are in dire need of cloths and essentials.” She winks at me and my smile grew. She did feel like my mom, caring and making sure that I have all that I need.

“Yes, that sounds like fun actually.” Then I thought of Colten, I had not seen him since I woke up and I was beginning to miss him. This bond is really no joke, I have only known him for a few hours and already miss him. Argh! “Where is Colten?” I ask her to realize that my heart was speaking for me. She giggled and gave me an even bigger smile.

“He had to take care of some pack stuff and I came to watch over you. It seems that he doesn’t want to leave you unguarded. But not to worry, he will be back soon. Now that you are up, how about some dinner, I can order something for you, anything you want.” She said. I was feeling more at home. Just when I was about to say something the door opened and revealed my gorgeous mate. He was truly built like a Greek god. His white t shirt was barely concealing his well-developed, chiseled muscles. His jeans looked snug and showed a huge shadow of a bulge. His face was flawless with his sharp square jaw, luscious lips that I would love to feel all over my body, a pointed nose and his clear grey eyes that were magnified by his think lashes and brows. I licked my dry lips taking in all his features. I saw him chuckle catching me ogle at him. I turn my head away from him with an obvious tint on my cheeks.     

“Well I am glade to see that my beautiful mate is up, I hope your hungry… and I am talking about the food and not me.” He says with a teasing tone. I just pull the blankets over my head fully embarrassed by my actions, especially since I was ogling Colten in front of his mom. I hear Dorthey chuckle.

“Son look at what you did to the poor girl. Be nice. Annabelle, I am sorry for my son’s comment, he can be full of himself sometimes.” Dorthey says in a joking manor.

“Mom, I am not full of myself, I am just glade to see my mate.” I peak from the covers to see him give me a wink. How can I blush so much in front of this guy? He is probably going to be the death of me. “I have brought dinner for us. Sorry I didn’t bring you any mom, I wasn’t thinking.” He turned to his mom. She just waved her hand as if brushing off the idea.

“Not to worry son, I am sure you want some alone time to get to know your mate here. Besides I can feel your father getting restless, you know how he gets when I am apart from him for too long. I will see you both later. And Annabelle dear, call me if you need anything at all, you are family now.” She winks at me and I nod to her.

“Thank you again Dorthey. And please call me Bell.” I softly smile at her and she looks like she just won a great victory with her grin. Then she turns to her son nods and leaves my room. I look up at Colten and he is just smiling like a kid on his Birthday. He just stood there looking at me frozen to his spot. I am sure he is lost in thought. I clear my throat and ask, “So Dinner? I am getting a little hungry.”

“Right… I’m sorry, let me set it up.” He places the basket on the rolling tray and starts preparing a plate for me to eat. “I hope that you like Salmon!” I sit up and adjust myself on the bed ready to eat. He places a plate with a huge fillet of Salmon, roasted veggies, and mashed potatoes. It smelt more amazing, maybe it is my new wolf senses, but food had never smelt so good. My mouth was watering. Colten Handed me a fork and told me to dig in while he got me a glass of water. Once he was done with serving me, he served himself and took a seat in the chair next to my bed.

“Thank you.” I say to him before I dig in. This food was phenomenal. I don’t think I have tasted anything so delicious. I moan after my first bite and I hear Colten cough. I look at him and notice him fidget and his eyes turn dark. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

“You are very welcome Annabelle.” He says with a strained voice.

“Is something the matter? Did I do something wrong?” I ask, his sudden change in behavior had me worried. He must have sensed it because he took looked at me and shook his head.

“It’s ok, I am just trying to control myself around you. Your moans aren’t really making it easy for me, I am only a man after all.” He says and then it struck me. I blush and look away. He chuckles. “You are adorable. And you don’t have to worry I can wait until you are ready. No rush.”

“Thank you.” I say and take another bite of my food.

“You are more than welcome Annabelle.” He smiles.

“Call me Bell. Annabelle is too formal and long winded for me.” I give him a soft smile and he starts gleaming again. I guess my willingness to be open with him is making him very happy. For some reason I wish that I can make him this happy all the time. Goodness this bond is intense.

“Ok Bell. How about we play 20 questions?” He says and I nod.

“You first.” I say.

“Ok…what is your favorite color?” He asks.

“Purple. Yours?”

“Red… your turn.’

“How old are you?” I ask

“20…what hobbies do you like to do?”

“I like to read and paint. I also like to be active outdoors. You know hiking, kayaking, swimming, really anything that lets me enjoy the sun and nature.”

“I see, well I am glade to hear that, I like going out and camping and enjoying nature as well. So what’s your favorite sport?”

“I think it is my turn to ask a question.” I say with a little teasing smirk.

“Sorry, got ahead of myself, how about you ask two questions and Answer mine.” He smiles and blushes slightly. I thought his reaction was so cute. Here is a big Alpha and I am seeing a cute vulnerable side of him.

“I love soccer, I use to play in high school, and I did get a scholarship to play in college, but I guess that’s not going to happen now.” I say and feel a little sad. I feel him take my hand and rub his thumb over my knuckles.

“Hey if you want to go to college I will not stop you, maybe not this year, but next year I can help you enroll back, Humboldt State is within my territory, you will still be safe to go there. And we can play soccer whenever you want, there are plenty of pack member that would love to start a league. Anything that you want I will make it happen.” He says. I saw so much care and love in his eyes. He is trying hard to gain my trust and alleviate some of the hurt I have.

“Thank you, that sounds great. But I don’t want to be a burden on anyone.” I say, I have been so used to doing things on my own. Even when I was with Greg, I still did things on my own. 

“You are never going to be a burden here Bell. You do not know this yet, but you are already very much loved. This pack will do anything for you… I will do anything for you.” He said in a soft tone that made me feel bad that I was making him unhappy. His happiness is already so important to me that I can not explain it. I place my hand over his.

“I am sorry if I upset you, I am just not use to being so dependent on people.” I say. He gives me a bigger smile, though it did not look like it reach all the way.

“I understand” he simply says. “Are you done with your plate?” He asks and I nod. He cleans up and puts all the dirty dishes back in the basket. “You still have two more questions to ask me.” He said when he was done. I smile knowing that I did not damper the mood too much.

“Have you been in any other relationships?” I asked. If we were going to make this relationship work, I needed to know if there were any skeletons in the closet. He gives me a smile and shakes his head.

“Nope. I have never had a girlfriend, nor touched another female. My mother is the closest female to me.” He says very proud. I nod happy to hear that I am his first, even though my mind is telling me that that’s doubtful. I mean look at him. He looks like a guy that can have his pick of the littler. But then my heart tells me that he is sincere.

“Next question, how big is your pack?” I ask.

“We are the second largest pack in the kingdom. There are 637 pack members, and our territory stretches between the northern states of the continental US.” He says. I am stunned. I did not realize the magnitude of everything. There are that many werewolves living among us. Then I think kingdom? “When you mean kingdom…”

“Yes, I mean just that. We have a king and queen that have their own pack, which is the largest pack. Their pack is in Canada. The current King is my cousin. My mom and the previous king were siblings.” I was shocked, there is royalty and his mom a princess. No wonder she displayed just elegance and grace. But then that makes Colten a prince, a close heir to the throne. I feel so inadequate suddenly. “Hey, don’t think that my position within the royal family make you inadequate, you were given to me by the moon goddess, we were destined to be with each other, and no one can take that away from us.” He says as if reading my mind. I felt a little better, but still burdened. Not only am I going to be the Luna of the second largest pack but tied to the royal family. I am so new to this world; will I be able to do a good job? Am I really the right person for this position? I was doubting myself and the words of the moon goddess. She may have giving me a new life and “Blessings”, but did she really choose right.

“Don’t think to much of it, give yourself time to adjust. You will see that the moon goddess did not make a mistake. You were always meant to be here.” He says with so much conviction. I nod and give him a reassuring smile. Hearing those words were exactly what I needed to hear and calm down. I may just be overthinking.

“Thank you for being understanding. I know I keep saying that, but its true. I am grateful for everything you have done.” I say and let out a yawn. I did not realize how time has flown by as it was now dark outside. The doctor comes in once more to check on my condition. Then after Colten told me to sleep and he will stay next to me all night. I did not object and let myself fall to sleep. I was at peace for the first time in weeks. Colten and his mom help ease my mind with all my doubts and answered all my questions. I am sure that tomorrow will hold a new adventure for me. Again, only time will tell if this place is where I will find my happily ever after.